One of a point guard's greatest assets is court awareness, but that didn't help Washington State sophomore Derrick Low last week.

Low, a 2004 Iolani graduate, fractured a bone in his right foot after falling during a practice Jan. 3.

"The court is a little higher than the actual ground, and we were doing a drill and I ran through and I was running off the court," said Low, who said the difference in the height level of the court and floor threw him off and he fell, breaking the bone in the process.

The team was doing full-court drills, and he was chasing down a teammate who was making his way to the basket.

"I was on the other baseline and I had to full-on sprint after him," said Low, who continued running after the play was over. "I was slowing down and looked back over my shoulder to see if he made the basket.

"Everyone knows it's there, it could happen to anyone."

It is the second time in his two-year career at Washington State that Low had broken a bone in his right foot. He is expected to be out five more weeks, and won't need surgery.

He has been on crutches since last week and has another week to go. He is in a walking boot, which he will wear for three more weeks before slowly returning to action.

In October of 2004, Low fractured a bone in the same foot during a preseason practice and missed five games before starting the final 22. He underwent surgery for that injury, and a screw was put in. That could have helped to minimize the injury this time around, he said.

Coincidentally, his best friend and former high school teammate Ryan Hirata, a sophomore guard at Chaminade, also broke his foot recently.

"I break mine, he breaks his, and I break mine again," Low said. "I hope this is the last one, I hope he doesn't break his again."

Before his injury, Low was the only Cougar scoring in double-figures (10.5). He was averaging 33.2 minutes, 1.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. His 47.7 shooting percentage from 3-point range ranked third in the Pac-10 Conference.

BROADUS PASSING TEST

Rashaun Broadus, Hawai'i's only other men's basketball player on a Division I school on the Mainland, has also had success running the point for the Cougars ... of Brigham Young.

"It's been real good, I'm getting a feel for it real nice," said Broadus, a junior guard and Mililani High alum.

He scored a team-high 17 points, including a deep 3-pointer with one minute left in the game and the shot clock at zero, in a 72-60 victory over Utah on Saturday.

After transferring from Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb., he has started all 13 games and is averaging 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. His 4.83 assists-per-game average leads the Mountain West Conference.

"The first day I got in the program they told me it was my position to lose," he said. "I just wanted to show them they made the right decision to recruit me."

Playing Division I basketball has lived up to all of his expectations.

"It's all what I thought it would be, watching it on TV my whole life," he said. "(I like) playing in front of big crowds, and fans knowing who you are. It's just like me when I was going to Mililani High School. It's pretty cool."

The hardest adjustment for him has been to devote all of his time solely to point guard, instead of a "2" or shooting guard.

"I can penetrate, they give me my freedom, but it's my job to get everyone involved first," he said.

Broadus and Low met up in the non-conference season, with BYU topping Washington State, 76-68, on Nov. 22.

"It was exciting, I've played on the same (NCAA Summer League) team as Derrick since high school," Broadus said. "As soon as I signed with BYU, we knew we were going to play against each other.

"The night before the game, (Low) called me up, and we exchanged some words over how it was going to go," Broadus said.

Low said: "I was telling him how much I was looking forward to playing against him again."

Broadus scored six points, while dishing out five assists, and Low scored 13 with seven assists.

"We were guarding each other the whole game, so that was cool," Broadus said. "The last time we faced each other was in the semifinals of the state tournament (in 2002)."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.